Was it just me or was that the most patriotic Canada Day ever? Is it the recession or something?The war? Tone it down a little guys.

Shelter fuss exposes amateurs. Would that be the people living next to those shelters? Those people suck at living in a city.

Hunt is on for heiress who's gone missing from Vancouver's streets. But whom we only realised was missing when there was a large sum of money involved.

Go east young man: Assaults skyrocket in frustrated neighbourhood. Hmmm, weird, assaults have actually decreased downtown. Why would that be?

Will security cameras become an Olympic legacy? Are you asking me? Oh, um, yes. Yes they will. Did I get the answer right?

Mounties appealing decision on Taser inquiry. Why don't you try appealing to the public whose trust you've destroyed instead? Just an idea.

Who'll trust mayor after shelter freak show? "I'm sure there are some Vision Vancouver types who thought it was deliciously subversive to stick a bunch of junkies and crackheads into a smug cocoon of latte-sipping condo-dwellers and watch the ensuing mayhem". So you admit there is a "smug cocoon of latte-sipping condo-dwellers" yet fail to see how the two are inseparable? That they share a place on the same socio-economic axis? Maybe the fact that there exists such a sharp divide in this city, this once proud working class logging camp, is the real freak show. "I spoke to a guy on CKNW radio last week who said he doesn't let his wife walk in the neighbourhood any more unless he accompanies her -- carrying a baseball bat". Talk about sheltered. You people disgust me. Now let's all go and celebrate Canada's 'diversity'. Fucking Hypocrites.

These are the same people that think Insite encourages drug use, despite yet another report to the contrary.

Are you middle class? Are you serious?

Province doesn't have promised cash for leaky condos. Something poetic about taking money from new construction projects to pay for old ones done wrong.

Heil Harper

Sled Island 2009. Come hell or high water I was planning to go to this year's festival in Calgary right after last year's successful event that featured the likes of Yo La Tengo, Wire, Of Montreal, Broken Social Scene, Mogwai, The Dodos, Deerhunter and No Age to name a few. The festival which is in it's third year didn't get booked with big names this time around but there was still a good sampling of acts both from abroad and locally that would keep the most discerning festival goer their festival pass money's worth.

It just gets better, and better, and better.

B.C. housing minister apologizes to Vancouver mayor for calling city's tactics on homeless 'amateurish'. What you're supposed to do apparently is buy a bunch of hotels, say that you've solved the housing crisis, win an election, then cite the economic woes as the reason they're not getting built. Duh.

I just don't get it. These two articles in the Courier illustrate such a bizarre contrast in my mind: Police rate high in public opinion poll + Temporary shelters' future in doubt. Shelter attracts crime> citizens complain> shelter shut-down. Gangs run wild> citizens complain> more cops needed. Drugs everywhere> blame drug addicts> praise cops.

Whistler Olympic party zone producer wanted. "A river of 20,000 people will flow through Whistler village as part of a $17.8-million party of Olympic proportions, which will run 16 hours a day for 17 days during the 2010 Winter Games". Doesn't that just sound enticing? A river of fanny-packs and matching North Face jackets streaming past vinyl pavilions with credit card companies trying to win you a new car filling up on Monster Energy drink, looking for authentic native art and smoked salmon. Fucking kill me. PS you people need to stop using Olympic as an adjective to describe the size of things during the Olympics.

2010 Olympic posters revealed. "And in a smart marketing move the Paralympic poster, featuring the other half of the maple leaf, can be put beside it to make a complete image". Fitting since we'll probably end up paying double for the Olympics.

On June 25th, I went to the Museum of Vancouver to see the Velo-City bike exhibit, but also to attend one of their free lectures (first one of the summer, I hear, so stay tuned for more free stuff) called Park This. The lecture brought three different speakers together from different backgrounds to discuss bicycle parking (or lack there of) in Vancouver.

There were some crazy slideshows of fancy bicycle 'vending machines' called Bicebergs, but also simpler solutions like bike cages, and your good old fashioned bike tethering posts, which always remind me of a place to hitch your horse. Or, there's Japan's crazy underground bike storage if you want to trust your bike to a robotic machine.

One of the things that surprised me about Vancouver is that, though the city is pretty bike friendly, there is a lack of vision surrounding the parking option. Where there is bicycle parking there is often not enough of it, or it's in disrepair. Even areas like Commercial Drive and Main Street, where I imagine a lot of bikers reside, don't seem to have enough spots to lock up bikes, leaving people crossing the street, going around corners, or locking up to, ironically, no parking signs.

Supporters of Iranian protestors gather in downtown Vancouver. "They came together on a night when Michael Jackson rules headlines". Supporters of Iranian protestors vie for the attention of the media who only months ago were calling for Iran to be bombed, away from the death of a man whom only years ago they were calling a pedophile.

Meanwhile, local media turn to Twitter, further cementing the death of Pop Media (says he with a straight face while linking to a Tumblr page).

Ministry removes controversial Middle East question from B.C. history exam. "They have been fighting to regain a homeland since they were driven out in 1948. Some have lived their entire lives in refugee camps. Forty years later, Israel still refuses to recognize their right to exist as a nation." The question should have read: which group of rock-throwing terrorists hate Jews the most? Duh.

RCMP using intimidation to silence Olympic protest, group says. I do not think that this is true. That being said, I'd like to, um, voluntarily list a few items of public record:
I am a big, big, fan of the RCMP.
I hereby do not condone violence of any sort except for in hockey.
I never once said that I was going to throw human feces at the Olympic torch parade.

Don't